[Title: People Who Fall in Love in Mysterious Ways]

[Playing: Thinking Out Loud
by Ed Sheeran]

 

Jung Yonghwa was looking at his smartphone, when a smile suddenly crept into his face, one so suspicious-yet-obvious made the man beside him cringed in both envy and disgust. “Four and half-year doesn’t count as newly-wed anymore, please stop it.” Jonghyun said at the microphone, that connect to the studio separated by glass in front of him—where a rookie artist looked confused—and the other producer beside him—the real comment was addressed at.

The man Jonghyun referred at looked unfazed and looked at the bashful singer in front of him, “One last time from the top, if the one before still better we take that one,” he said with all-smile face.

 

[When your legs don't work like they used to before,
and I can't sweep you off of your feet..]

 

The light was blinding on the stage, and the crowd of old friends she hadn’t meet for a long time, made everything seemed unreal—even when most of them were not high schooler anymore, they screamed all the same, warm and comforting. Beside all of that, she still tried to look for one man that connected to the spot in her ring finger, one with nice cold band, which was the beginning of her much more unreal fairy-tale.

On the other side of the other nice cold band, a man in his last-thirty waving a pink fan as furiously as the women in his surrounding, chanting in sync with the nine singer who danced wonderfully well like they would never age.

 

[Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love?
Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks?]

 

It felt all the same, when Yonghwa knocked and entered the waiting room full of his wife’s sister, the welcoming squeal, and several teasing snicker, like a flashback he never expect to experience but pleasing after all. His wife stood up from her seat with a kind of smile that Yonghwa wanted to keep all his life, the corner of turned up with a slight blush above all the makeup.

He then gave the flower bucket he had been holding on his back all that time to the prettiest woman on his life.

“You totally made us look bad,” several good-natured shouted was made from men behind him—Yonghwa almost forgot them, well, his eyes only for one, what could he do, really?

 

[And, darling, I will be loving you 'til 70,
And, baby, my heart could still fall as hard as 23..]

 

When a woman came out from the waiting room, bare-faced, loose t-shirt, and jeans, Yonghwa still found it fascinating after all this time that his heart still dropped at the sight of her, with or without the makeup. There were tiny wrinkles here and there, but not a chance it would hinder her look in his eyes.

“Do you wait for long?” She asked, sweet and proper like she’d always been.

“Yes, you girls always forgot time when you started to talk,” the composer pouted, making his wife laughed at his random childish-antic even in his age. With the smile in his wife’s face, it was only a matter of second before Yonghwa smiled too.

He took her hands and connected it with his, as they walking out of the backstage.

 

[And I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways
Maybe just the touch of a hand.]

 

The soft light of the morning sun woke him up slowly but surely, the curtain was opened widely with nothing left to hide the morning glory of the perfect view of Seoul’s busy streets from high apartment building. The warm spot next to him was already empty; the only thing left was crinkled grey satin cover.

Yonghwa walked groggily out of the bedroom to find his wife already starting her morning’s routines.

“Sweety, you didn’t wake me up,” accused him as he neared her in the kitchen, but before he was close enough to hug her, he stopped, “You don’t make that for me, right?”

The big glass with something green in it always made the famous composer shuddered, even after years drinking it, the fishy looked always intimidating.

“You looked really tired, working late almost every day this past week, picking me up training, and even attending my reunion concert until really late last night,” his wife talked to him lovingly, there’s no chance for Yonghwa to win against her on anything, actually. “So I let you sleep more and made this for you.”

He gulped the healthy green juice in one shot with the supervision of his wife eyes. There’s no doubt that it was healthy, but—as Yonghwa thought in his head—there’s no doubt either, that taste would last in his throat for a long hours to come.

Yet, when the cease in her wife forehead reduced so did her concern, Yonghwa felt more than contended.

“Thank you,” Yonghwa murmured as he kissed her forehead.

 

[Well, me—
I fall in love with you every single day,
And I just wanna tell you I am...]

 

Yonghwa remembered one day, he didn’t know what to do, with the feeling of helpless and desperation in his chest, when the one he loved so much cried and screamed at him. He came home running one day, when the prim and proper woman he married suddenly called and screamed in frustration, “I can’t do this anymore. I want divorce. I want to get out of this place!” and Yonghwa forgot about the comeback of his artist or new boyband to be debuted, and even his car parked on the company’s parking lot. He took taxi and saying soothing words to her, softly and slowly.

He went inside his house to find her crying on the couch, mess here and there surrounded her. The one like her always kept everything inside and managed to think that everything was alright, but it only built up and broke in the end.

Maybe it was his mistake not to notice little details and focused on work, that the frustration her wife carried finally kicking.

She looked so fragile like that, and Yonghwa put his hands around her so slowly and carefully not to break her even more until her head securely lying on his chest with one arm hugging her, and the other hand her hair trying to comfort her.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” Yonghwa repeated his apologies more and more, as her breathing become much even than before, “Which one’s hurt?”

“Everywhere…” She said slowly, “My feet, my arms, everywhere is hurt…”

“I’ll massage you then,” he said as he slowly pulled untangled his arms, but the woman pulled his arms back to their position before.

“No, just… stay like this for a minute…”

Yonghwa smiled and stoke her more, as she playing with the collar of his shirt. “Your heart sounds like it’s going to burst… I must have been shocked you, I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay, we must have burden you so much,” his hands slowly the bump in her stomach, where another heart beating softly.

With the tears dried in the corner of her eyes, she beamed as Yonghwa her belly. Even her, the one so measured all her life would experience such a pregnancy fit.

“Thank you,” She said as she gave her husband a little peck on the lips.

 

[So honey, now, take me into your loving arms, kiss me under the light of a thousand stars,
place your head on my beating heart.]

 

The door opened fast after Yonghwa ring the bell, and a bright three years old grinned widely as she saw her parent. “Appa! Eomma!” she shouted and run to Yonghwa, as he hugged and lifted her easily, with shower of kiss to follow and soon after her mother joined in the parade of peck and smooch.

“Eomma is really awesome in the stage,” she chirped happily and her mother laughed, the chatty daughter really took after her father, “I want to meet Eomma, but Appa told me to go home with Halmeoni !”

“Yes, because you need to sleep, honey…” Her mother ruffled her short hair.

Yonghwa just smiled contently as he looked his women, his loved ones. He carried Eunbi with his right arm and slipped his other one her daughter’s mother’s hips, he felt like he owned the world.

 

[I'm thinking out loud,
that maybe we found love right where we are…]

 

“This is…”

“Our favorite street’s vendor,” Yonghwa finished her sentence, he turned to look at young girl in his arm, “Eunbi asked for some Tteokbokki, and this is the best place for that.”

The place was crowded with people, which made Eunbi’s mother shifted in her feet with worries. The two of them never really went out to places with a lot people before late at night. So, it was a surprised for her when Yonghwa brought them here. She turned to look at the father of her daughter who talking comically with Eunbi, without even slightest worry of fans swamped them or anything.

They sat on the table and ordered some menu like any normal family would, and with time she started to forget why she worried in the first place.

“This Tteokbokki is better than Appa’s!” the girl in her lap said innocently, while her father made a faking hurt face.

“But, I think Appa’s Tteokbokki is the best!” she said, teasing her daughter.

“See? Eunbi go live with Tteokbokki’s Ahjumma, I’ll keep Eomma.”

“Noooo!” the three years old girl screamed as her parent looked delighted to teasing her.

“Excuse me,” a teenager shyly talked to Eunbi’s mother, behind her a couple of her friends looked at Eunbi’s mother in awe, “Can we take a photograph with you?”

“Oh, okay..” Eunbi’s mother replied as shy as the girl.

“Here, I’ll help you took it,” Yonghwa offered, and his wife eyes widen in surprise as he took the girls’ smartphone and snapped a picture of them with his wife.

After the girls sat back to their chair, his wife’s eyes turned to him instantly, “They didn’t recognize you? Is that why you easily come to places like this?”

“Yup, teens knew my name but didn’t really know my face,” Yonghwa lightly answered, “the perks of working behind the curtains.”

“But you’re CNBLUE,” she looked a bit terrorize.

“Teens only remember actors like Minhyuk and Jungshin than Jonghyun and I, we barely a celebrity anymore, hey—Eunbi took my Tteokbokki!”

She chuckled when the father and daughter started to bicker over food, “I always remember you as superstar… and well, now look at you, stealing your daughter’s food.”

“What? Me? It’s mine!” Yonghwa cried with mouth full of Tteokbokki and hands protected his plate as his daughter laughing in delight.

She remembered the years before when they sneaked around from paparazzi and stalker’s fans, rumors and scandals, even haters and netizens. She never realized that it had long gone, and they had overcome all the hardship, so it’s only right to enjoy the luxury now, with their little family.

 

[When my hair's all but gone and my memory fades,
and the crowds don't remember my name.]

 

The maknae of Girl’s Generation stopped on her feet when she heard a voice she familiarly remembered, the voice from five years ago that she had admired long ago. The sweet melody and much sweeter lyric flew right inside her heart, she never knew it could move her again, that voice, when they had been stranger for such a long time. But she stayed anyway, even when two member of her sub-group calling her to their waiting room.

Her legs frozen and she stayed, as she saw a glimpse of him from the curtain in the backstage, the singer who sang with his guitar…

 

[When my hands don't play the strings the same way, I know you will still love me the same]

 

… Yonghwa froze when he saw her on the backstage, it’s strange, they ran into each other almost all the time, and they never stopped to see each other all the time too. But right at that time, he stopped, with his heart palpitating like crazy, and her eyes, her smile, her laugh flashing like an old movie in the back of his head. …

 

['Cause honey your soul could never grow old, it's evergreen…
And, baby, your smile's forever in my mind and memory…

I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways
Maybe it's all part of a plan]

 

… His mouth was trying to say something, opening but with no sound at all.

There was someone calling him, and his frozen time walked again, so did his legs, he walked and passed her once again, without saying a word or smile, none at all.

 

[Well, I'll just keep on making the same mistakes
Hoping that you'll understand]

 

A woman came out from the waiting room, and Yonghwa straightened his body immediately. There were shocks in her face, but there was thunder in Yonghwa’s throbbing heart. He walked closer to her, with careful steps.

“Are you waiting…me?” She asked, sweet and proper like she’d always been.

“Yes, I wanted to talk…” the singer suddenly lost his usual confidence in front of her, “Do you… want to go out for some snack?”

“My manager wouldn’t like that…” she answered, but as the color of his face changed she added immediately, “My diet, she wouldn’t like that because of my diet… But it’s okay, a bit of snack wouldn’t hurt.”

The reason why she said yes to his request, she never actually knew herself, it was just a spontaneous reflect on her side, or maybe that was just fate talking.

With the smile in her face, it was only a matter of second before Yonghwa smiled too.

They walked side by side, talking about anything they haven’t said to each other since forever, as they walking out of the backstage.

 

[But, baby, now, take me into your loving arms, kiss me under the light of a thousand stars
Place your head on my beating heart]

 

Yonghwa saw only one person in the room, the woman in white dress at the other side of the altar. On the hand of her father she walked down the aisle, light seemed like emitted from her, without even he realized he had been holding his breath all along.

“Hey, beautiful,” Yonghwa whispered when she stood beside him, right in front of the Preacher, he hold her hand and ready to say yes for their start of happily ever after.

As the once virtual marriage turned into real one…

 

[Thinking out loud…
That maybe we found love right where we are…]

 

There were a lot of flash, everywhere they looked, when a lot of reporter tried to freeze their moment of love into photograph, Yonghwa kissed his bride’s temple lovingly, and captured her face in his mind for thousand years to come.

 

[So, baby, now, take me into your loving arms, kiss me under the light of a thousand stars
Oh, darling, place your head on my beating heart..]

 

Sometimes, you could feel something was changing inside you, like a something new would happen. Maybe that because this was the very first set of his TV Show, or maybe something else, we never knew, he never knew.

The young woman extended her hand politely, perfectly measured smile and stature, “My name is Seo Joohyun, please take care of me…”

He took her hand with an equally measured smile, but oh, maybe, this was it? Maybe…

 

[I'm thinking out loud that maybe we found love right where we are
Oh, baby, we found love right where we are…

And, we found love right where we are…]

***

 

 

 

 

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Notes: They just came out naturaly in my head everytime I heard this song, just because, I don't know why... And so the fic born, with so much part trying to hard to fit in. But, really, Enjoy!!!